Riders of electric-assist bicycles will be able to use multiuse paths in Boulder, including along the more congested sections of the Boulder Creek Path, starting next year.

The Boulder City Council unanimously approved a yearlong pilot program late Tuesday to assess the impact of allowing the bicycles on paths.

Boulder has a goal of at least 15 percent of all trips being made by bicycle. Transportation officials and advocates of alternative modes of transportation believe allowing electric bicycles, which are already allowed in on-street bicycle lanes, to use multiuse paths away from traffic might encourage more people to get out of their cars.

The hope is that so-called "interested but concerned" cyclists who have physical limitations or are worried about interacting with cars on the road will be more likely to take a bike and not a car to work or shopping if they have the option of using an electric-assist bicycle on off-road paths, officials said.

During several public meetings earlier this year, some users of the path system said they had concerns that allowing e-bikes would make congestion worse along crowded areas like the Boulder Creek Path.

One of the options before the City Council would have excluded a section along the creek path, but council members decided to open all portions of the multiuse path to e-bikes.

The speed limit on the multiuse paths is 15 miles per hour. The top speed of e-bikes is around 20 mph.

However, the electric-assist bicycles will not be allowed on any paths on city open space, even those that allow regular bicycles. One proposal had called for e-bikes to be allowed on hard-paved paths on open space, but council members felt adding open space to the pilot program raised too many issues.

The Open Space Board of Trustees said using motorized vehicles on open space violates the city charter.

E-bikes are also not allowed on sidewalks.

During the pilot program, city staff will assess how well the bicycles share the paths with other users, the rates of collisions and "near misses" and the impact on usage rates.

At the end of the pilot program, they will make a recommendation on permanent policy.

Councilman Tim Plass said he sees a lot of potential in the pilot program.

"I'm just really excited that we're going to try to close that gap and get more people out of their cars," he said.

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